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Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Film/Movie - differences in the "same" language.

Here in Europe we call films, films. I know many of them are now shot on digital, but they're called films because they are (were) shot on film, and played on reels of it in the cinema.

In the USA they call them movies. As in, thing that something moves in. It's kind of babytalk really. First there were stills, then movies, then talkies...and for some reason, movies stuck and they still call them that. And because we watch ones that are made there, we start to call them movies as well.

Language is weird sometimes. Changes in it spread like a rash, or a virus.

As a writer, it can be fun to play around with it. Like trying to write very differently to how I normally talk. My story "White Christmas", that will be published in the forthcoming anthology, Stitched Up! for example, has a lot of 'Americanisms' in it, because it's set in the USA. It was difficult to write words like 'flashlight' instead of 'torch', but it was probably a good writing exercise. And since it got accepted, I'm going to take it that it worked!

Still - I'm just going to invite arguments here, and say that the USA way is wrong :-P

PS - if you order a copy of Stitched Up!, please mention my name, I get royalties if you do! Thank you :-)

Interesting trivia there :) I have to admit that I do call them movies. My Dad has always called them films. Though when he says it it's 'fil-im'. Which I do like. The "language barrier" is quite confusing, and at times challenging. Kudos to you for your interpretations for your story